​To wrap up our UnPlug and Play week, we enjoyed having a book time in the gym with all of the other primary classes. We wore our pajamas, took our blankets and books to the gym and snuggled up with our stuffies while we quietly read independently. The students did a super job!

We've played a couple of math games over the last couple of weeks. Game playing skills are an important part of social development. Children have to practice taking turns, waiting for their turn, as well as learn the skills of being a gracious winner or a good loser. Playing games at home is an excellent way to practice these skills with your child – as well as a fun time for families!

We learned how to play "Build A City". This is a partner game where children practice their turn-taking skills as well as math skills, such as counting, using dice, and comparing. Ask your child how we play it. ​

To pique curiosity about Penguins, I set out some books, some stuffies, and little figures at our Discovery Centre. The children enjoyed choosing to go to this centre throughout the day.

​​As a whole class, we started our new unit of study by thinking about pets. We created a class graph of who had pets.

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​Next, we created a t-chart of animals that we thought would make good pets. It created a lot of interesting discussion about what should be considered a pet.

Then, we looked at books to see what we could discover about things that people do to take care of pets. The children also shared what kinds of things they do to take care of their own pets.

At the end of this Group Time we came up with the inquiry question:

In order to answer this question, we will need to do much research to find out more information about penguins.

We created a list of things that we wondered about penguins. We've even managed to find some answers to some of our questions already. We've found some answers in "information" (non-fiction) books that we've read as well as by watching some short penguin videos.

And so it began...the children looked through many non-fiction books about penguins to see what they could discover about penguins. Even though reading is difficult for them at this age, the pictures can provide lots of information.

​At our Discovery Centre we have set up Antarctica with penguins on ice floes.

​Some of the children investigated what other animals would live with the penguins and they made some other animals to add to our centre. The children have enjoyed playing “predator and prey” with the animal figures.

Many of the children have also enjoyed dramatizing with our Penguin Sensory Bin. It has many penguins as well as a number of predators.

On Thursday we received a special delivery box from Antarctica. Mrs. DeFehr delivered it to our classroom. We noticed that it even had air holes in the top.

We opened it up to find our new penguin friend, Percy. He came all the way from Antarctica because he heard that we were going to be learning about penguins in our classroom. Included in the box with him was a note about his journey from Antarctica to Kamloops.

He will be fun to have in the class as we continue on our research journey!

We are enjoying using our indoor hopscotch mat as a way to stay active during our cold indoor days. Not only is it a good way to be active, it is also an excellent game where the children have to practice sharing and taking turns.

After reading The Mitten we decided to make our own mittens. We created a chart of different kinds of lines and shapes. Then, using crayons, we used some of the lines and shapes to decorate our mittens. ​

The final step was the 'magic' part. We painted them with water - yes water - but they each came out a lovely pastel colour. Ask your child why that happened. ​